Julio Jones Says He Won't Hold Out, Arthur Blank Gave Me His Word!

Julio JonesI Won't Hold OutFalcons Promised Me New Contract!!!

7/8/2019 9:03 AM PT

Julio Jones will NOT be holding out of Falcons practices this year ... the star WR says owner Arthur Blank has promised him a new deal -- and Jones is confident it'll all get done soon.

"Mr. Blank gave us his word," Julio says ... "That's golden."

30-year-old Jones still has 2 years left on a $71 MILLION deal he inked back in 2015 ... but he's been angling for a new contract for a while now.

In fact, Jones held out of Atlanta practices LAST summer ... before he ultimately settled for a small raise before the season began.

But, Jones says he doesn't anticipate any of that happening again this summer ... saying the Falcons have already told him a new contract is on the way.

"[Blank's] word is that it's going to get done," Julio says ... "There's no stress on my end. I'm not thinking about it."

"[Blank] makes it easy for me to go out and just work every day and not have one of those situations where there's a holdout or anything like that."

Jones says he hopes his new contract makes him a Falcon for life ... saying it's his goal to finish out his career in Atlanta.

As for the eventual end to that stellar career ... Jones says he doesn't see retirement coming any time soon -- but he did say he's evaluating his future on a season-to-season basis.

"I'm year-to-year, man," Jones says ... "For me, I haven't felt like I've lost a step. But, as soon as I feel like I'm losing a step or I'm slowing down or I can't produce or I can't help my teammates or things like that, that's when I will slow down."